Ariel Durant
Ariel Durant, born Ida Ethel Kaufman in 1898 in Russia, was a notable American writer and historian, best known for her collaborative work with her husband, Will Durant. After emigrating to New York with her family in 1901, she pursued a progressive education at the Ferrer Modern School, where she met and later married Will Durant at the age of fifteen. The couple faced challenges early in their marriage, but as Ariel's intellectual pursuits grew, she became increasingly involved in her husband's research on civilization, significantly contributing to the acclaimed eleven-volume series, "The Story of Civilization."
Ariel's role evolved from literary assistant to coauthor, with her name appearing on several volumes, particularly after the seventh volume, reflecting her influence on the project. The Durants were honored with the Pulitzer Prize for literature in 1968 for their work and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977. In addition to their historical writings, they published a dual autobiography, sharing personal letters and insights into their lives. Ariel passed away on October 25, 1981, shortly before her husband, leaving a lasting legacy in the field of history and literature.
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Ariel Durant
- Born: May 10, 1898
- Birthplace: Proskurov, Russia (now Khmelnytsky, Ukraine)
- Died: October 25, 1981
- Place of death: Los Angeles, California
Biography
Ida Ethel Kaufman, later known as Ariel Durant, was born to Ethel Appel and Joseph Kaufman in Proskurov, Russia (now Khmel’nyts’kyy, Ukraine), in 1898. Ida’s father, a clothing salesman, emigrated to New York in 1900, where he found a job selling newspapers. Ida and the rest of the family joined him in 1901. A short while later, Ida’s mother left her family to participate in an anarchist movement.
At the age of fourteen, Kaufman left the New York public school system and enrolled in the recently opened Ferrer Modern School, which specialized in libertarian education. Within a few months, she and her teacher, William (Will) James Durant, fell in love. At the age of fifteen, Kaufman married Durant on October 31, 1913. She rollerskated to New York City Hall for their marriage ceremony. He was twenty-eight years old. Initially, Durant referred to his wife as Puck, after a character in William Shakespeare’s Midsummer’s Night Dream. Later, he called her Ariel, after the elf in The Tempest. Ariel legally adopted the name.
The first few years of the Durant marriage was rather tumultuous at times. An outspoken, restless individual, Ariel ran away on occasion, but always called to have Durant pick her up and take her back home. As her intellect and insights into life expanded, the couple grew closer. In 1919, she gave birth to a daughter, Ethel. An outgoing person, Ariel was involved in the cultural life of Greenwich Village until the mid-1920’s. She was a strong advocate for women’s rights. In 1928, the Durants moved to Great Neck, New York, where they lived until 1943, when they moved to California, making their home in the Hollywood hills.
By 1930, Ariel Durant was involved in helping her husband with his research on the history of civilization. As his literary assistant, Ariel and some other aides began classifying and organizing thousands of pages of notes that Will had written. Over the next four decades, this work would evolve into the famous eleven-volume series known as The Story of Civilization. By the time the third volume, Caesar and Christ—A History of Roman Civilization from Its Beginnings to A.D. 337, was published, Ariel had become an important critic and contributor to the research. When the seventh volume, The Age of Reason Begins, was published in 1961, Ariel’s name appeared as a coauthor, as it did for the remaining four volumes. For the tenth volume, Rousseau and Revolution, the Durants were awarded the 1968 Pulitzer Prize for literature. The Durants published The Lessons of History and Interpretations of Life. In 1975, they completed the last volume of The Story of Civilization, The Age of Napoleon.
In 1977, the Durants published the story of their lives in A Dual Autobiography, which included letters that Will had written to Ariel over the years. Also in 1977, the Durants were presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Gerald Ford. It is the most prestigious award the United States government awards to civilians. Ariel died at home on October 25, 1981. Will passed away less than two weeks later.